Keg-washing machine.



J. H. G. ZUNNER.

KBG WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 30. 1911 Patented Mar. 17, 1914 M A A. M M/W.

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U'TED STATES liAlTENT GFFlCE.

JOHN H. G. ZUNNER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO ZUNNER MACHINES COMPANY, 0F ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

KEG-WASHING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 17, 1914.

Application led December 30, 1911. Serial No. 668,795.

To all whom 'it may concern 3e it known that I, JOHN H. Gr. ZUNNnn, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State ot New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements; in Keg-Vashing Machines, et' which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for washing, or otherwise treating, kegs or barrels.

Machines oitl the kind in question are commonly arranged to operate upon kegs which are supported by runways or seats upon which the kegs lie in horizontal position, with their' bungholes at their lowermost points. The kegs are so positioned usually by means of an automatic device known as a "lumghole-lindei", which rises into engagement with the lounghole of the rotating keg and arrests it at the required position. For the purpose oi washing the keg a nozzle is then introduced through the bunghole, by which the water or other fluids are discharged into the keg. In order that a number oit kegs may be operated upon simultaneously, and to transfer the kegs automatically 'from point to point in the machine, while maintaining them in proper position for the reception of the nozzles or other instrumentalities, means have heretotore been proposed for raising each keg from its seat or support at one point of operation, moving it transversely to another point of operation, and then lowering it upon a seat or support, while maintaining the bunghole at the lowermost point.

The present invention relates particularly to mechanism for transferring the kegs in this manner.

The object of the present invention is to produce a mechanism, of the type above referred to, by which the kegs shall be raised and lowered rectilinearly, to provide more e'ttectually against accidental rotation ofthe kegs from the position in which the bungholes are at the lowermost points but in which, nevertheless, the movements of the mechanism are, for the most part, through a closed curved path, so as to be produced with a minimum expenditure of power and a minimum wear upon the mechanism. To this end I employ a mechanism in which provision is made for lost motion, this lost motion being controlled by stops operable to modify the movements o the keg-supporting device at the end-portions ol the path ot' movement.

ln the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a plan-view of a portion of a keg-washing machine provided with transferring mechanism embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section ot' said machine; Fig. 3 is a vertical section, on the line SH3 in Fig. 2, but on a larger scale than said ligure; and Fig. 4C is an enlarged detailview, in side-elevation, o'lE a portion of the machine indicated by the line l--a in Fig. l.

The invention is illustrated as elllbodied in a machine :for washing the insides of kegs or barrels, this machine being provided with a bung-hole linder 99 oi any ordinary or suitable form, together with a series of nozzles lll through which water and other fluids may be discharged in to the kegg through their bung-holes, in the usual manner. The bung-hole finder and the noz zles are located at regular inter vals on the machine, and the present invention relates particularly to the mechanism for transferring the kegs to the innig-hole linder, and thence to the successive nozzles.

The bung-holefinder and the nozzles are mounted :in a trough, of which the sides 74; are recessed to form a series of seats 95, 9G, 9T and 98, upon which the kegs rest during the several operations thereon. The transterring-mechanism ig provided with a series of eqnidistant keg-supports, in the form of recessed plates (33, fixed upon channehbars 64 which extend horizontally on opposite sides of the trough. During the operations upon the kegs the kegsupports 63 lie entirely below the koe-seatsl 011 the trough, and move horizontally in the performance oi their return-movement. which is in a direction :from rightto lett as the machine is shown in the drawings. At the termination of this movement they arrive in the position shown in the drawings, directly beneath the keg-seats. They are then raised vertically so as to engage the bilge-portion of the kcgs just outside ot' the keg-seats, thus raising the kegs from the seats. The keg-supports then move horizontally Yfrom left to right, thus transferring each keg from one seat to the next seat in order; and they then fall vertically so as to permit the kegs to engage and rest upon the keg-seats again.

In order to actuate the keg-supports in the sol manner just described, cach channel-bar G4 is provided with two studs 65, which have shanlrs G7 resting in horizontal slots 68 in two rack-plates G9 located near opposite ends of the channel-bar, the bars being thus supported upon the plates, and the studs have heads GG to prevent lateral movement of the bars. The pairs of rack-plates at each end of the machine are connected by cross-bars 73, so as to `provide a rigid struc ture, and each plate is supported by means of a guide-roller journaled on the end of a gear-shaft 71. The gear-shafts are journaled, in transverse horizontal position, on columns 72 constituting portions of the frame of the machine, and each guide-roller 70 engages an endless channel in one of the rack-plates. Each of these channels has straight upper and lower horizontal portions SG, connected by semi-circular curved end-portions S7. Accordingly, the guiderollers and the channels act ,to restrict thc plates 69, and the parts immediately supported thereby, to movements in a closed curved path having comparatively long, horizontal, straight portions and short, curvilinear end-portions.

In order to cause the plates 69 to moinx in the manner referred to each gear-shaft 71 is provided, near its ends, with pinions 83 which cooperate with racks on the plates. Each of these racks is formed rvby a horizontal series of pins terminating, at the right-hand and left-hand ends, respectively, in pins 84 and 85 which are concentric with the semicircular end-portions of the guidechannels. When the gear-shafts are rotated constantly in a clock-wise direction the pinions and racks operate to move the plates 69 continuously, in directions determined by the form of the guide-channels, the pinions and racks being maintained constantly in co- Operative relation by the channels and the guide-rollers.

ln order to rotate the gear-shafts in unison, they are provided with bevel-gears 81, meshing with bevel-pinions 8O upon a coun-- ter-shaft 79 which is journaled longitudinally on the machine. rlhis counter-shaft, in turn, is connected, by a worm-wheel 78 and a worm 77, with a transverse powershaft 76, which may be driven by connection with any suitable source of power.

rEhe pinion-and-rack mechanism just described is adapted to impart vertical and horizontal movements, of the necessary amplitude and in the 'proper sequence, to the channetbars and the keg-supports, but the rising and falling movements so produced, if not otherwise modified, would be curvilinear in direction, and accordingly I employ means to so modify these movements as to cause them to be rectilinear and vertical. To this end three stop-lugs 89, 90 and 91 are mounted on the outer surface of each of the side-walls of the trough, and to cooperate with these stop-lugs each channelbar is provided, at two points, with inwardly-projecting studs 92 upon which are mounted stop-rollers 93 and 94, respectively, these studs and rollers being located, on each bar, at a distance from each other slightly greater than the space between successive keg-supports. The stop-rollers 93 and 94 coperate with the stop-lugs S9, 90 and 91, all of which have vertical surfaces for this purpose, and the middle .lug 89 is somewhat longer than the lugs 90 and 91, so as to project above and below the latter as shown in Fig. 4. When the plates 69, the channel-bars and the keg-supports are in their lowermost position either of the rollers 93, 94 may pass beyond the lower ends of the lugs 90 and 91, respectively, and engage the lower end of the lug 89.

In F ig. 2 the mechanism is shown in the position in which it has completed its horizontal movement from right to left, and accordingly in this position, wherein the kegsupports have arrived immediately beneath the keg-seats, the stop-rollers 94 have engaged the right-hand surfaces of the lugs S9. By this engagement the horizontal movement of the channel-bars is arrested. By the continued rotation of the pinions a semi-circular rising-movement is neXt imparted to the rack-plates, while the guiderollers 70 traverse the right-hand curved portions 87 of the guide-channels. At this time, however, owing to the sliding connections provided by the studs 65 and the slots 68, the channel-bars and the keg-supports are permitted to participate in the upward movement of the rack-plates while remaining stationary as far as horizontal movement is concerned. vThis upward movement is directed by the engagement of the rollers 94 with the right-hand surfaces of the lugs 89 during the first half of the semi-circular movement of the rack-plates, while they are still moving to the left, so that it is directly vertical. During the second half of this semi-circular movement, in which the plates move toward the right again, the guiderollers 94 engage the inner or left-hand vertical surfaces of the lugs 91, thus continuing` the rectilinear upward movement of the keg-supports until the guide-rollers 70 have come into engagement with the lower straight portions 8G of the guide-slots. l/Vhen this latter point in the operation is reached the stop-rollers 94 have risen clear of the upper ends of the lugs 91, thus leaving the channel-bars free to move to the right and participate in the succeeding rectilinear horizontal movement of the rackplates, while the rollers 70 are traversing the lower stra-ight portions 86 of the guidechannels.

An analogous operation to that just de- Seribed oeours at the right-hand end et the horizontal transiter-movement. Aft this time the stop-rollers 93 engage the Vertieal leilthand snrtiaees at the upper ends of the stoplugs Si), and then move dmvnwardly between these lugs and the ings 90, thus eausing the keg-supports to more directly downward while the rollers 70 are in engage ment with the let`t-hand semioireular portions 87 et the guiide-ehaimels.

ihe first otA the keg-supports (32E, loeated at the letbhand ends ot the channel-bars (Sil, are adapted. to raise a kegj tfroin a seat or runway (not lshown) constituting either a part of the barrel-washing machine, or et. any other meehanism for handling or operating upon the liegs, and to trans't'er the Keg to the seat 05, where it may be operated upon in the usual manner by the bunghole finder. The eonstruetion of this deviee is not particularly deserihed as it: may be ot any ordinary or suitable ilorm, but the drawings show rollers 103 by which the keg; is supported and rotated to cause its bung hole to be brought into engagement with the tinder, and these rollers may be conveniently actuated by sprocket-eliains 10i7 i105 and 10G connectingl them with one oil the gear-shafts 71, as shown in the drawings. At the next succeeding operation et the transferring-meehanisin the keg in question is raised from the seats 95 and disen- `raged :trom the bung-hole finder, beingthen transferred horizonta lly to a position directly above the seats Ott. and then lowered directly npon these seats and into engagealent'` with the tirst el" the nozzles 111.. At the next sneeeedine` operation of the transferringmeehanism the keg is transterred, in a similar manner, to the seeend nozzle lli, and so on. flt will be apparent that all ol' the instrumentalities ol" the machine may be operating' simultaneously upon ditterent ltegs, the operation ot' the maehine being thus eontinnons except for the interval oeeupied in transferring the series oLt" kegs 'from lett to right.

ln a .keg-wishing maehine, ltegd'ransilerringv meehanism haring, in eombination7 a keg-support, a tifarrier there'tfor, means lor moving the earrier in a closed, eut-ved path in a vertieal plane, connections between the earrier and the keg-suliport permittingrelalive lost motion in a horizontal direetion, and means operative, nea r the horizontal extremities ot? the path oi motion ot the earrier, to arrest the horizontal movement oi the kegsnpport and restrict the lieg-support at such times to rectilinear Vertical movement.

JOHN H. ZUNNER.

Witnesses:

D. Gumnn, L. THON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

